Hidatsa – Wild in the Pryors

Lori went out to the Dryhead on Saturday. Here is her report! Thanks so much Lori!

Sandy

I went out to the range on Saturday, and I am glad that I went early because it rained this afternoon, and the Pryor’s got some MUCH needed moisture. It snowed on the Pryor’s, but I am sure it rained down in the lower elevations.

I saw the greeters, and Hightail looks a little bit better than last I saw her. Maybe she is finding some of the newer forage to eat and she seems to have more spunk.

They were near the road and all together, unlike the last time I saw them when Hightail was all alone away from the band. This is a good sign that she is keeping up with her family. I stopped and took some photos, and then Hickok decided that they should all move. I watched them for awhile, but they clearly did not want me there, and so I left.

Hickok and Jesse James — Hickok, Jesse James and Seneca

The next horses that I saw were out on Mustang Flats. They were far away so I hiked out to them, but not too close. It was Hidatsa, Johnston and Chief Joseph. I just stood there with them for awhile and unlike the Greeters they did not seem to mind me there at all. They look a bit thin but nothing to worry about and now they are starting to have some new forage to eat. That is what they did the whole time I was there with them. I have a thing for Hidatsa as I have known him for quite some time now.

I decided, after some time that I would just let them be and started to walk back to my vehicle when I noticed a dark head pop-up from behind some bushes. It was Hawk, another one of my bud’s out there on the Dry Head. He was very alert and kept on watching me. I did not want to disturb him as he seemed very intense in who and what I was. It was a meeting I was very happy to have with him as I have not seen him close up for quite awhile. I said hello & goodbye and thanked him for showing himself to me. He is a beautiful stallion and I wish that there were more mares out there for some of these bachelors.

I hiked back to the car and went on my way to the end of the range. I decided to go into Ewing-Snell and see if the creek was running and it was.

I think that there is water in the Layout Creek now. I got my binoculars out and saw one lone black horse way out on the range. I could not tell at all who it was, but am thinking maybe it was either Seattle or Issaquah. I have not seen Seattle in a long time and wonder how he is and if he is still has Sacajawea.

There were some mule deer down by the creek and I tried to not alarm them, but they saw me and started to move away form the creek. I quietly got back into my car and left as they watched me. They seemed to be calm and not running away. There were about twenty of them.

I drove back through but did not see anyone else. I was blessed though, as I did get to spend time with some of the wild ones. It was a good day.

I hope I start seeing more of the horses soon. Last year I saw more of the horses in April. They must know something that I don’t.

I spent time today with Liesl and Kaibab….they are so cute and doing real good. After I fed them their good stuff, they were playing with their dishes, and so it gave me an idea to bring them a toy!

I brought them a big red ball to play with. Liesl found the part of it so that she could pick it up. They made me laugh and as always give my heart a burst of love.

Lori

Logo designed by Amber Bushnell

This day started out with windy gusts up to 50 mph and snow. We bravely tried to go out, but quickly realized that it was not a good idea.

By 3 in the afternoon, both Brigitte and I were getting cabin fever. The wind seemed to be dying down a bit, so we decided to brave it and head up the Dryhead. My biggest concern was the extra height the ATV added to the truck, so I added an extra strap to help with the strong wind gusts. We quickly realized that the wind was much calmer than it had been. We headed towards Bighorn Canyon.

Of course we were not disappointed. Because no matter what the weather, the ever faithful Greeters were there to welcome us to the range. I pulled over and we braved the wind and cold to snap a few quick shots of them and to thank them for being there.

We continued to drive down the paved road of the range. This area was great right now. The high mountains protected it from the gail force winds. It was good to be outside.

I had seen this trail that was being built, many times last summer. But it was closed while under construction and when it was open, I did not bother to stop. To busy in my quest to find horses. I did not even know what the trail was about. Somehow it seemed out of place and I avoided it. I was very wrong to do that.

Today offered the perfect opportunity to stop. We had seen no horses, and I doubted we would, given the time of year and the weather. So I changed my lens and we started down the trail. Click on the photo to view a larger size and be sure to read the words.

Can you see the Tipi ring in the upper portion of this photo? Once you spot it, you will quickly be able to spot the others.

After we left this site, we headed down the road. We were about half way through the range when we spotted Johnston and Hidatsa. It had been a while since I had seen these two. We spent a few minutes with them before they decided to head off.

We left Bighorn Canyon and decided to give lower Sykes a try. We drove back past the big red hills and spent some time hiking around. We did not see any horses, but we did see some incredible scenery.